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The new supersonic plane breaks the mold with a radical new shape and digital cockpit, but it relies on ancient parts to make it all happen. [Photo: NASA/Wikipedia] NASA’s X-59 Quesst experimental aircraft has taken a major leap forward, firing up its engine for the first time. This marks a crucial and final milestone as the team prepares the first runway and flight tests that will lead to a long series of trials that aim to prove what computational simulations have already proven: that supersonic flight can happen without the deafening sonic boom that marred and eventually grounded aircrafts like...

NASA and Lockheed Martin formally debuted the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft Friday. Using this one-of-a-kind experimental airplane, NASA aims to gather data that could revolutionize air travel, paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that can travel faster than the speed of sound. “This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and ingenuity from NASA and the entire X-59 team,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “In just a few short years we’ve gone from an ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer...

NASA’s X-59 QueSST This artist’s concept of NASA’s QueSST jet reflects the airplane’s final configuration following years of research and design engineering. The jet is now under construction by Lockheed Martin at the company’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. Credit: Lockheed Martin NASA’s X-59 aircraft, capable of supersonic flight while reducing sonic booms to quieter ‘thumps’, has been moved for testing in California. The collected data on human reactions to supersonic noise will potentially assist in enabling commercial supersonic flight over land. The following series of images shows NASA’s X-59 as it sits on the flight line—the space between...

A quiet supersonic plane designed and built by NASA to usher in a new era of superfast air travel made a pitstop in Texas to perform crucial structural testing ahead of a debut flight later this year. NASA's X-59 made the switch between Lockheed Martin facilities in late December, moving the plane between Palmdale, California and Fort Worth, Texas to take advantage of specialized equipment available in the Lone Star State to make sure the speedy vehicle won't face too much stress in mid-air. "In Fort Worth, they've got the perfect facility with a full control room and all the...

A heavy chorus of bolting and machinery filled the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology, or QueSST, assembly building as engineers, system technicians, and aircraft fabricators worked to merge the major aircraft sections together, making it look like an actual aircraft for the first time since the initial cut of metal in 2018. "We’ve now transitioned from being a bunch of separate parts sitting around on different parts of the production floor to an airplane,” said Jay Brandon, NASA chief engineer for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD) project. NASA’s X-59 QueSST is under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale,...

The Quiet SuperSonic Technology aircraft is America's newest experimental plane. A time-lapse video released by NASA in early 2020 shows the progress of the X-59, which has been referred to as the X-59 Supersonic Frankenstein. It’s assembly is using scavenged parts from iconic aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the NASA T-38 Talon, and the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk.

Virgin Galactic announced in May that it would be partnering with NASA to work toward high-speed, high altitude point-to-point travel for commercial airline passengers. The plan is to eventually create an aircraft that can fly above 60,000 feet (the cruising altitude of the Concorde) and carry between 9 and 19 people per flight, with a cabin essentially set up to provide each of those passengers with either Business or First Class-style seating and service. One other key element of the design is that it can be powered by next-gen sustainable fuel for more ecological operation. In some ways, this project...

NASA's incredible X-plane that is shaped to muffle the sound of its sonic boom has been cleared for assembly by a management review ahead of test flights in 2021. Dubbed the 'son of Concorde' after the Mach 2 airliner, the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) is NASA's first large experimental plane in three decades. The X-59 will cruise at Mach 1.42 (1,090 mph/1,754 km/h) and is designed for supersonic flight while preventing its sonic boom from being heard on the ground. If successful, the craft could one day travel from London to New York in just over three hours, while...

Faster-than-sound flight has been possible for decades. But supersonic planes like the Concorde were more or less limited to flying over oceans because of the loud sonic booms they make. Current laws prohibit supersonic planes from breaking the sound barrier over land. The X-59, by contrast, emits a faint "thud" when reaching its apex speed of 940 mph, which the company says is no louder than the slamming of a car door. The aircraft has a cruising altitude of 55,000 feet--about 25,000 feet higher than your standard commercial airbus. "This aircraft has the potential to transform aviation in the United...